Dissertation
Can a subject's identity wholly be expressed through the medium of photography? Are there approaches that are more successful that others?
Rationale
For me, the most impressive action as a photographer is to capture someone’s personality through either one image, or many. It is the most difficult task a photographer faces; to create something still from something so vivacious, in which someone’s identity must remain to effervesce. This is what has always interested me, and this is what I am constantly in the pursuit of, along with many famous photographers.
I intend my dissertation to address a certain idea - is it more effective to show someone's identity through just one image, or is a collection more appropriate?
I will explore how photographers capture their subjects throughout their body of work, and whether they seem to have one particular way of photographing a person, or whether their range is varied, and which technique provides the audience with a better idea of the person’s identity.
Richard Avedon says, “All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth,” and I intend to investigate this idea and review other photographers reactions, and their personal ways of showing the truth of a person through the medium of photography.
Parallel to my dissertation I will be providing a practical response, named ‘The Study of a Lone Figure’. In this response, I will be photographing one subject through many different processes of photography; digital, manual, moving image, to create a collection, an anthology almost, of this person’s life. I intend to capture varied angles, light settings, places, expressions and emotions of this person to create a whole picture. I will be aiming to present their character in the fullest way possible, to prove that it is possible to show truth of character through photography.
Introduction
Different photographers approach portraiture in contrasting ways; some prefer to shoot the same frame with a different subject, some enjoy showing a story through their images, and some believe that a collection of images is the most appropriate way to convey someone's personality. These different views on photography will be explored in my dissertation, through the following three chapters;
Chapter One - 'Same style and approach to different subjects' - Featuring the work of Richard Avedon, Rineke Dijkstra and Thomas Ruff who each used identical format in their images, yet varied the subject.
Chapter Two - 'A narrative shown through images' - Featuring the work of Nan Goldin and Larry Clark who present a clear narrative through their images
Chapter Three - 'Collections of images' - Featuring the exhibitions of Wolfgang Tillmans and the work of Corrine Day.
For me, the most impressive action as a photographer is to capture someone’s personality through either one image, or many. It is the most difficult task a photographer faces; to create something still from something so vivacious, in which someone’s identity must remain to effervesce. This is what has always interested me, and this is what I am constantly in the pursuit of, along with many famous photographers.
I intend my dissertation to address a certain idea - is it more effective to show someone's identity through just one image, or is a collection more appropriate?
I will explore how photographers capture their subjects throughout their body of work, and whether they seem to have one particular way of photographing a person, or whether their range is varied, and which technique provides the audience with a better idea of the person’s identity.
Richard Avedon says, “All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth,” and I intend to investigate this idea and review other photographers reactions, and their personal ways of showing the truth of a person through the medium of photography.
Parallel to my dissertation I will be providing a practical response, named ‘The Study of a Lone Figure’. In this response, I will be photographing one subject through many different processes of photography; digital, manual, moving image, to create a collection, an anthology almost, of this person’s life. I intend to capture varied angles, light settings, places, expressions and emotions of this person to create a whole picture. I will be aiming to present their character in the fullest way possible, to prove that it is possible to show truth of character through photography.
Introduction
Different photographers approach portraiture in contrasting ways; some prefer to shoot the same frame with a different subject, some enjoy showing a story through their images, and some believe that a collection of images is the most appropriate way to convey someone's personality. These different views on photography will be explored in my dissertation, through the following three chapters;
Chapter One - 'Same style and approach to different subjects' - Featuring the work of Richard Avedon, Rineke Dijkstra and Thomas Ruff who each used identical format in their images, yet varied the subject.
Chapter Two - 'A narrative shown through images' - Featuring the work of Nan Goldin and Larry Clark who present a clear narrative through their images
Chapter Three - 'Collections of images' - Featuring the exhibitions of Wolfgang Tillmans and the work of Corrine Day.
Chapter 1
Same style and approach to different subjects
Same style and approach to different subjects
In this chapter I will be exploring photographers who capture their subject in an identical way throughout their body of work, and whether this particular approach uncovers the personality of the subject to its best potential. The photographers I will be looking at are Richard Avedon, Rinike Dijkstra and Thomas Ruff.
Richard Avedon
The photographs that I have been looking at, taken by Richard Avedon, as part of his collection 'In The American West', are mostly the same format; a black and white image in a portrait layout with only the upper torso and head of the subject framed. It is with this particular technique that he characterises himself, and each image is created to be distinctly his own.
I researched this particular project and found that Avedon spent the summer months of 1979 travelling to the West 'going to truckstops, stockyards, walking through the crowds at a fair' searching for the faces that he wanted to photograph. He tells that 'the structure of the project was clear to me almost from the start and each new portrait had to find its place in that structure' (1). So it is clear that he envisaged what the images were to look like, and placed his subjects in this particular frame that he had created.
The pictures were shot with a large-format camera that accurately reproduces the slightest detail of the subject, even when the portraits are blown up to large sizes, as Avedon chose to do in this particular series. (2)
Each photograph in themselves may not portray the person's identity to its best potential, yet as a whole collection of one hundred and twenty-five black-and-white photographs (a selection of the staggering 700+ images that he took), the subjects captured give us a well-rounded idea of what this particular community, situated in Rocky Ford, is like. Each image is not necessarily meant to convey each person's emotion, but instead as a whole provide a strong sense of what these people are about.
Richard Avedon states, "There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth." (3) With this quote he is meaning that, to him, each photograph is a snapshot of the person and not actually a true portrayal of the subject's nature. So for Richard Avedon, his attempt is not to create each image as personal in itself, but to fit as part of a collection, that tells a story to the observer.
But is this an appropriate way to convey someone's identity through photography? It, of course, gives a sense of the background and culture that they surround themselves with, and the people that they communicate with, but does it really show their personal true nature? With Richard Avedon's specific format, a subject would be prevented from creative freedom, and surely each subject knows the best portrayal of their character?
However, it could also be interpreted that perhaps this pushes the subject to show their true selves, as they are not being aided by colour or props, and instead have to convey real emotion through eyes, expression and body language.
I researched this particular project and found that Avedon spent the summer months of 1979 travelling to the West 'going to truckstops, stockyards, walking through the crowds at a fair' searching for the faces that he wanted to photograph. He tells that 'the structure of the project was clear to me almost from the start and each new portrait had to find its place in that structure' (1). So it is clear that he envisaged what the images were to look like, and placed his subjects in this particular frame that he had created.
The pictures were shot with a large-format camera that accurately reproduces the slightest detail of the subject, even when the portraits are blown up to large sizes, as Avedon chose to do in this particular series. (2)
Each photograph in themselves may not portray the person's identity to its best potential, yet as a whole collection of one hundred and twenty-five black-and-white photographs (a selection of the staggering 700+ images that he took), the subjects captured give us a well-rounded idea of what this particular community, situated in Rocky Ford, is like. Each image is not necessarily meant to convey each person's emotion, but instead as a whole provide a strong sense of what these people are about.
Richard Avedon states, "There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth." (3) With this quote he is meaning that, to him, each photograph is a snapshot of the person and not actually a true portrayal of the subject's nature. So for Richard Avedon, his attempt is not to create each image as personal in itself, but to fit as part of a collection, that tells a story to the observer.
But is this an appropriate way to convey someone's identity through photography? It, of course, gives a sense of the background and culture that they surround themselves with, and the people that they communicate with, but does it really show their personal true nature? With Richard Avedon's specific format, a subject would be prevented from creative freedom, and surely each subject knows the best portrayal of their character?
However, it could also be interpreted that perhaps this pushes the subject to show their true selves, as they are not being aided by colour or props, and instead have to convey real emotion through eyes, expression and body language.
The man in the photograph above illustrates this point well. Using the tilt of his head, the dirtiness of his attire, and the expression seen through the features on his face, when looking at this photograph you gain a good understanding of this his identity and what he is feeling.
Rineke Dijkstra
Another photographer to consider when exploring the technique of same style and approach but to different subjects is Rineke Dijkstra who photographs sets of people.
Dijkstra's two most famous collections of photographs are of women who have just given birth, and are holding their children, and the collection that I have been looking at which is called 'Hilton Head Island', depicting adolescents on a beach. In each shot there are distinct similarities: the subject wearing their bathing suit, the high saturation in each image, and the pattern of the background: pebbles, sea, sky.
Each shot is composed beautifully, with the background being a perfect frame for the shape of the subject, each third of the image, whether it be pebbles, sea or sky, surrounding the subject as if it were a frame in itself. The detail and clarity of the subject is very high, and for this I believe Dijkstra would have used lights to illuminate the subject without letting the background fade away.
Rineke Dijkstra presents her subjects in a different way. Each subject expresses their emotion through their stance, the teenagers looking gawky and uncomfortable, the young woman showing shyness by the position of her arms. I believe that onlookers of these images can relate to the photographs, as everyone remembers the awkwardness of being a teenager, and so this memory is projected onto the subject to make an emotive image. It is almost as if a mirror is held in front of the viewer, and personal emotions are reflected.
Dijkstra's two most famous collections of photographs are of women who have just given birth, and are holding their children, and the collection that I have been looking at which is called 'Hilton Head Island', depicting adolescents on a beach. In each shot there are distinct similarities: the subject wearing their bathing suit, the high saturation in each image, and the pattern of the background: pebbles, sea, sky.
Each shot is composed beautifully, with the background being a perfect frame for the shape of the subject, each third of the image, whether it be pebbles, sea or sky, surrounding the subject as if it were a frame in itself. The detail and clarity of the subject is very high, and for this I believe Dijkstra would have used lights to illuminate the subject without letting the background fade away.
Rineke Dijkstra presents her subjects in a different way. Each subject expresses their emotion through their stance, the teenagers looking gawky and uncomfortable, the young woman showing shyness by the position of her arms. I believe that onlookers of these images can relate to the photographs, as everyone remembers the awkwardness of being a teenager, and so this memory is projected onto the subject to make an emotive image. It is almost as if a mirror is held in front of the viewer, and personal emotions are reflected.
Thomas Ruff
Thomas Ruff's images, in contrast to the previous two photographers, give almost no information about each person's identity away. The identical framing and neutral expressions contained within each image prevent the subject from showing any sense of their personality. These photographs are scientific in that respect, a comparison of eyes, noses and hair. The set of images are less emotional and more physical. Even the title of this particular set is factual, making it clear that the tying factor between these four people is the colour of their eyes, not their background, their childhood, or anything else emotional or personal.
As a practical response, I took some images of my own, to help me understand the directorial role the photographer has in conveying the identity of their subject. To complete this practical response, I set up the lights in the studio against a white background and set each subject up so only their face was framed in the image.
I asked each subject to display no emotion, and with this prevention of expression, and the lack of colour in each image, I believe that they give even less away than Ruff's photographs. I do not think that this is a beneficial photographic technique, as it does not display each's identity well.
To conclude, I am confident in the opinion that the method of photography that these three photographers explore is not benefitting the study of the subject's personality to it's full potential. It is true that images may convey feelings as a collection, for example, Avedon's 'In The American West' collection showing the lives of others, and the general atmosphere that these people portray. Yet, each image when stood on it's own cannot show the person's true colours, when restricted within the format that the photographer regimentally desires. Ruff's portraiture conceals even more identity, as pushes subjects to appear as similiar to each other as possible.
I think that Dijkstra's images are perhaps the most emotive, yet only do so if you have related feelings to what is being photographed. For example, through the set she captured of women who had just given birth to their children; mothers and parents alike will feel drawn towards these images, yet the subject's identity is only revealed through the observer's own memories and feelings.
I think that Dijkstra's images are perhaps the most emotive, yet only do so if you have related feelings to what is being photographed. For example, through the set she captured of women who had just given birth to their children; mothers and parents alike will feel drawn towards these images, yet the subject's identity is only revealed through the observer's own memories and feelings.
Chapter 2
A narrative shown through images
In this chapter I will be exploring how a narrative can be explained through a particular set of images, or even through one image standing alone. I will also be deliberating whether this approach to a subject is the most appropriate in terms of conveying the person's true identity and emotions.
Nan Goldin
The first photographer whose work I will be researching is Nan Goldin. Nancy Goldin is an American female photographer, born in 1953 in Washington, the youngest of four children. Nan was closest to Barbara Holly, the eldest of her siblings: "She used to wash my hair, and she used to tell me stories that she never told other people." When Nan was 11 and Barbara was almost 19, she committed suicide. Nan says she "knew it was going to happen" since she was "really young. She told me." (4) She says that it was hard for her sister to live in the 50s; in a time of conformity, and that death was the only escape that she could imagine. After that significant moment in Nan's life she says she felt she had to "get away". She ran away from home, got excluded for smoking weed, was fostered by various different families and by the age of 14 was living in a commune and attending a free school run by hippies. Nan spent most of her time watching movies with her best friend David Armstrong, who renamed her Nan. They both developed a love for photography together, and began exploring the underground side to their city, Boston.
The main themes to her early photography were love, gender, domesticity and sexuality. Her subject's are laughing, crying, partying, fighting, masturbating, marrying, making love, making up, getting up, getting dressed, getting sober. (4) She tells a story with her photographs, and points the lens at people she is close to, which creates an intense intimacy within the photograph. It is as if her pictures are from a private diary made public.
The main themes to her early photography were love, gender, domesticity and sexuality. Her subject's are laughing, crying, partying, fighting, masturbating, marrying, making love, making up, getting up, getting dressed, getting sober. (4) She tells a story with her photographs, and points the lens at people she is close to, which creates an intense intimacy within the photograph. It is as if her pictures are from a private diary made public.
I think that the emotion evoked in her photographs is incommensurable. Even through one singular image, as seen above, it is clear to the observed what it is conveying. The position of the arm, the colour, the wrinkles on the sheets - minuscule conditions that make for an incredibly moving image. Yet the best things about her photographs is that they are real. Researching the context behind her images gives each photograph a meaning and a purpose.
"I used to think that I could never lose anyone if I photographed them enough. In fact, my pictures show me how much I’ve lost." – Nan Goldin from 'Couples and Loneliness'
"I knew from a very early age, that what I saw on tv had nothing to do with real life. So I wanted to make a record of real life. That included having a camera with me at all times." – Nan Goldin
"I knew from a very early age, that what I saw on tv had nothing to do with real life. So I wanted to make a record of real life. That included having a camera with me at all times." – Nan Goldin
The images that I am most interested in are Nan's collections. As displayed above, it can be seen that four separate images mean something more when combined. The images themselves may be different, they may not match, or be symmetrical, and yet the tying element of the subject, but also of the mystery in the photographs means that each lies perfectly next to each other. The composition of the photographs in collections such as these is important. The colder colours being to the left hand side draws a separation between the images, and pushes the top right hand image to seem even more desolate than ever.
It is important to mention the top right hand image, of the bed without presence. When capturing photographs in the genre of portraiture, it does not necessarily mean that a subject has to consistently be present within the photograph. I think that an absent photograph creates matching, if not more emotional information about the person that the photograph is missing. The philosopher Sartre explains how the world contains nothingness as well as human beings and our physical surroundings. (5) The absence of a person will be the striking thing when walking into their bedroom and not seeing them there. So therefore, emptiness, or nothingness can mean just as much, if not more, about the person. Their absence may cause you distress because you miss them, just as the unmade bed in the image above perhaps evokes feelings of sympathy or warmth in the observer.
It is photographs like these that seems to appear natural, and spontaneous that create the greatest sense of worth. It is like a combination of snapshots of the person's life, and through doing so is not only beautifully simple, but also heavily symbolises the subject's life.
It is important to mention the top right hand image, of the bed without presence. When capturing photographs in the genre of portraiture, it does not necessarily mean that a subject has to consistently be present within the photograph. I think that an absent photograph creates matching, if not more emotional information about the person that the photograph is missing. The philosopher Sartre explains how the world contains nothingness as well as human beings and our physical surroundings. (5) The absence of a person will be the striking thing when walking into their bedroom and not seeing them there. So therefore, emptiness, or nothingness can mean just as much, if not more, about the person. Their absence may cause you distress because you miss them, just as the unmade bed in the image above perhaps evokes feelings of sympathy or warmth in the observer.
It is photographs like these that seems to appear natural, and spontaneous that create the greatest sense of worth. It is like a combination of snapshots of the person's life, and through doing so is not only beautifully simple, but also heavily symbolises the subject's life.
Larry Clark
Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was immersed into photography at a young age because of the family photography business (6). In both his photographic and cinematic works, Clark pursues a set of related themes: the destructiveness of dysfunctional family relationships, religious intolerance and bigotry, masculinity and the roots of violence, the links between mass imagery and social behaviours and the construction of identity and sexuality in adolescence.
Clark alleviated the boredom of suburban teenage life by taking drugs with his friends. He always carried a camera around and captured all of this. These photographs were later published in his book 'Tulsa' which conveyed the aimless existence with chilling starkness of his drug addict friends: shooting up, playing with guns, having sex and shooting up again. He explains that his life at that time was about "living in the moment, not thinking about anything beyond that...I wanted the viewer to feel like you're there with them. You can be there fucking, smoking dope, having sex..." (7)
This attitude to his photographs creates a unique sphere for Clark, a sphere in which reality is portrayed accurately, and to an extent with which the observer can feel as if they are themselves within the photographs. This is achieved by the frankness of the images. Nudity, drug abuse, violence and sexual scenes make Clark's images adult-rated, and yet teenagers themselves can relate. Clark was outraged when his exhibition 'What Do You Do For Fun?' in Paris received a ban for under-18s. "They tried to censor me - and in France!" was his splutter. (8) His outrage is because he is not attempting to hide anything to anyone - everything is on show, and he wants the world to see, and be able to relate.
Clark alleviated the boredom of suburban teenage life by taking drugs with his friends. He always carried a camera around and captured all of this. These photographs were later published in his book 'Tulsa' which conveyed the aimless existence with chilling starkness of his drug addict friends: shooting up, playing with guns, having sex and shooting up again. He explains that his life at that time was about "living in the moment, not thinking about anything beyond that...I wanted the viewer to feel like you're there with them. You can be there fucking, smoking dope, having sex..." (7)
This attitude to his photographs creates a unique sphere for Clark, a sphere in which reality is portrayed accurately, and to an extent with which the observer can feel as if they are themselves within the photographs. This is achieved by the frankness of the images. Nudity, drug abuse, violence and sexual scenes make Clark's images adult-rated, and yet teenagers themselves can relate. Clark was outraged when his exhibition 'What Do You Do For Fun?' in Paris received a ban for under-18s. "They tried to censor me - and in France!" was his splutter. (8) His outrage is because he is not attempting to hide anything to anyone - everything is on show, and he wants the world to see, and be able to relate.
Some people may find Clark's images upsetting, especially when dysfunctionality and children are combined, as seen in the image above. Although each of Clark's images is spontaneous and unplanned, he manages to maintain appropriate lighting and the composition in the images is always pleasing. For example, in the image above, the negative space of the wall within the two groups of people; the adults and the children creates a boundary. The groups parallel each other, and it evokes feelings of continuity through the generations; as if both generations will always have problems or equally, will always be there to comfort each other. It is clear that the children have had to grow up very fast, and have learn this from a young age.
'Teenage Lust' was Larry Clark's second book, published in 1983. It was entitled 'an Autobiography of Larry Clark', though is not so in the conventional sense. The book includes some of Clark's early family snapshots. It follows a rough chronological order, and is mostly comprised of images that Clark has taken of others that he believes symbolise his own childhood. He turns back the years and relives his teenage past through the lives of others. 'Teenage Lust' has at it's core the vulnerability, rawness and uncertainty of adolescence.
The collection above is one of Clark's works within 'Teenage Lust'. Although the images do not follow one subject, each image portrays a similar emotion which renders it as a collection as very strong. This technique used by Larry Clark to combine different images as one solo collection is an interesting one. The contrast in sizing of the photographs against each other appears almost as a storyboard. The varying emotion in each photograph makes sure that the observer regards each side of the collections personality; the seriousness of the underage girl smoking and the happiness conveyed through the laughing pack of girls. This links very closely to my personal study.
The collection above is one of Clark's works within 'Teenage Lust'. Although the images do not follow one subject, each image portrays a similar emotion which renders it as a collection as very strong. This technique used by Larry Clark to combine different images as one solo collection is an interesting one. The contrast in sizing of the photographs against each other appears almost as a storyboard. The varying emotion in each photograph makes sure that the observer regards each side of the collections personality; the seriousness of the underage girl smoking and the happiness conveyed through the laughing pack of girls. This links very closely to my personal study.
The image above, taken by Clark, reminds me of some manual images that I have taken as part of my 'Study of a Lone Figure'. Even through singular images, Clark maintains a heavy sense of the subject's emotion. This is created through the combination of expression, body language and composition in the photograph. In the one above, the boy's eyes can be seen quite clearly, and look as if he is watching something in the distance.
In conclusion to this chapter, it can be seen that here is a different approach to photography than in the first chapter, and I believe that this one is more appropriate when attempting to convey a true sense of a person's identity. When capturing someone from all angles, through the day and the night, in colour and black and white, upset and laughing, present and absent, you are managing to create a sense of their personality from every angle, unplanned and spontaneous. And isn't it true that someone is completely themselves when in their own habitat, doing what they personally desire? Photographers like Nan Goldin and Larry Clark, who take photographs of people they love and things that they know have the best chance out of everyone to produce a truthful photograph.
Chapter 3
Collections of images
Collections of images
As part of my exploration of the question "Can a subject's identity wholly be expressed through the medium of photography? Are there approaches that are more successful that others?" it is important to recognise that it is not only the photograph standing aesthetically that promotes a subject's identity, but also the way a photograph, or a collection of photographs, is presented when exhibited. Because, of course, the images themselves may be incredibly emotive and informative, and yet if there has been no thought in how to promote the images further through presentation, then they will not be interpreted by the observer to their best potential.
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a photographer whose work I have been interested in now for many years, and whose exhibition technique is not only pleasing to look at, but also very unique. Tillmans is a German fine-art photographer and artist, whose photographs present us with a compelling alternative to conventional ideas about beauty. Through his many different genres of photography, including landscapes, still-lifes and portraits, distinctive energy remains, often appearing spontaneous and improvisatory when in fact they are carefully planned. (9)
Tillmans was considered the documentarian of his generation, best known in the beginning for his seemingly casual, snapshot-like portraits of the youth around him. Some of his photographs (taken at the European Gay Pride march in London, 1992) have appeared in renowned magazines such as I-D and Spex, and through this have positioned him as a prominent witness of a contemporary social movement. Tillmans says "I take pictures, in order to see the world." (10) He means that he sees, he knows, he feels through the photographs that he takes. Photographs help him to sense things around him, and make meaning of them. This relates directly to my dissertation question, and it can be seen that Tillmans view, in contradiction to Avedon's, would be that in fact photographs can tell the truth, and can depict a good portrayal of the chosen subject's character. Through his portraiture, Tillmans hopes that the images he takes will help him to see this person, and to understand their nature.
Tillmans was considered the documentarian of his generation, best known in the beginning for his seemingly casual, snapshot-like portraits of the youth around him. Some of his photographs (taken at the European Gay Pride march in London, 1992) have appeared in renowned magazines such as I-D and Spex, and through this have positioned him as a prominent witness of a contemporary social movement. Tillmans says "I take pictures, in order to see the world." (10) He means that he sees, he knows, he feels through the photographs that he takes. Photographs help him to sense things around him, and make meaning of them. This relates directly to my dissertation question, and it can be seen that Tillmans view, in contradiction to Avedon's, would be that in fact photographs can tell the truth, and can depict a good portrayal of the chosen subject's character. Through his portraiture, Tillmans hopes that the images he takes will help him to see this person, and to understand their nature.
As above, it can be seen that Tillmans accompanies his incredible images with original presentation. His photographs are printed in different sizes and formats, combining them with photocopies, magazine and newspaper cut-outs. Each image is meticulously placed in arrangement with the others to form a seemingly unordered, yet perfectly balanced, presentation.
When Tillmans won the Turner prize in 2000, his installation was uniquely striking. He showed hundreds of his photographs, mounted on the walls from floor to ceiling in a variety of fifty-seven different formats. These included: photocopies, polaroids, inkjet prints, and panoramas in saturated colours. They were framed, unframed, magnified, cropped, miniscule and the size of a billboard. They showed passengers on the tube and pedestrains in the street, clothes drying and flowers wilting, insects, bottles, off-duty models, friends and fellow clubbers. (11) Tillmans was showing life, through each image and through the intense collection of them all. It was crucial that his images were to be shown in quantity. He was appropriately conveying the everyday world through his work, and presents perfectly how this can be achieved.
This technique that Tillmans presents directly links to my personal 'Study of a Lone Figure' as encapsulates what I would like to achieve through the presentation of my images; the variety of process and differing colours, sizes and qualities. Tillmans is an inspiration when considering thoughts about my own work, and always provides new knowledge and interesting ideas.
This technique that Tillmans presents directly links to my personal 'Study of a Lone Figure' as encapsulates what I would like to achieve through the presentation of my images; the variety of process and differing colours, sizes and qualities. Tillmans is an inspiration when considering thoughts about my own work, and always provides new knowledge and interesting ideas.
Corrine Day
Corrine Day born 1965 is a British photographer. She has incommensurably influenced the style and perception surrounding photography in the early 1990s. Day has brought a more hard edged documentary look to fashion and has often included biographical elements.
"In photos," Day said, "we're usually laughing and happy and having a good time. We don't normally see the other side, when we're not having such a good time." (12) She attempts to show this side, and therefore depict the whole of the subject's identity, truthfully and completely.
Day's portraits are always intimate and often candid, because of her ability to form close friendships with many of her subjects. Through her portraiture, Day manages to capture a documentary and realistic feel, which when observed by a wider audience, often causes discomfort and awkward thoughts from the public involving invasion of privacy. It can immediately be seen that this feeling surrounds a truthful image. If discomfort is felt when looking at an image, this means the observer feels they are intruding somewhat on the personal parts of a subject's life, and in turn their life is becoming something public as opposed to private. This technique may be invasive, but provides an intense insight into the subject's life and captures their identity completely appropriately.
Corrine Day born 1965 is a British photographer. She has incommensurably influenced the style and perception surrounding photography in the early 1990s. Day has brought a more hard edged documentary look to fashion and has often included biographical elements.
"In photos," Day said, "we're usually laughing and happy and having a good time. We don't normally see the other side, when we're not having such a good time." (12) She attempts to show this side, and therefore depict the whole of the subject's identity, truthfully and completely.
Day's portraits are always intimate and often candid, because of her ability to form close friendships with many of her subjects. Through her portraiture, Day manages to capture a documentary and realistic feel, which when observed by a wider audience, often causes discomfort and awkward thoughts from the public involving invasion of privacy. It can immediately be seen that this feeling surrounds a truthful image. If discomfort is felt when looking at an image, this means the observer feels they are intruding somewhat on the personal parts of a subject's life, and in turn their life is becoming something public as opposed to private. This technique may be invasive, but provides an intense insight into the subject's life and captures their identity completely appropriately.
Not only are Day's photographs informative in themselves, but she also explores other approaches to the process and presentation of her images. For example, as seen below, Day has used a technique of sequencing photographs in a 3 by 3 grid to form what seems like a 9 sided personality to the subject.
When researching this photograph I discovered that these images were in fact produced from a three-hour photo-shoot at Kate Moss's own home. Day revealed that she "suggested to Kate that we have conversation about a serious subject. The subject she chose revealed her true feelings and in turn defined her character." (13)
When researching this photograph I discovered that these images were in fact produced from a three-hour photo-shoot at Kate Moss's own home. Day revealed that she "suggested to Kate that we have conversation about a serious subject. The subject she chose revealed her true feelings and in turn defined her character." (13)
It can be seen that in these nine photographs, Day has captured honest parts of Moss's character as she talks about things that have personally affected her. The truth is each expression is emphasised by the context surrounding the image. Using their close relationship, Day has captured these parts of Moss's character that are natural and personal, and in this way the subject's true identity is shown.
So perhaps a truthful photograph is only captured when the photographer is able to be on intimate terms with the subject, thus diminishing any barriers of embarrassment or privacy between the two.
So perhaps a truthful photograph is only captured when the photographer is able to be on intimate terms with the subject, thus diminishing any barriers of embarrassment or privacy between the two.
Conclusion
Throughout this dissertation, I have explored many different widely held techniques of photographers, and how these techniques have in their own way affected the outcome of the image, and how truthfully it manages to capture its subject's identity.
It can be seen most prominently that one of the best ways to capture a person at their most natural is when you are able to be intimate with them. Goldin, Clark and Day present this techniques very well through their candid portraits of close friends. It is almost as if the subject has to be comfortable enough with the photographer to feel as if a camera is actually absent. Another point to note is that Clark's friends, when photographed as young teenagers in Tulsa, never realised that his photographs would one day be presented to the general public. Unknowing of this, embarrassment and self-consciousness are destroyed and barriers are let down, so the photographer can enter personal territory.
It also has been conveyed to me throughout my research and understanding of the intentions of the photographers that the best way to capture a subject is through as many different aspects as possible, to capture them at their most natural: when they are sleeping, eating, dancing, laughing but also crying, in pain, tired and upset. Yet again, it seems a photographer needs to have enough intimacy with the subject to be able to explore all of these areas with them.
When looking at Tillman's exhibitions, I concluded it to be the best way to present photographs which in themselves conveyed a subjects identity, but also through the way that they were positioned, blown up and sized down. These seemingly unordered snapshots of a subject's life are almost reflecting what happens in their own realities. Some images are bright, as some days are bright. Sometimes the subject feels down so that snapshot may be in muted colours.
Each image, each position and each expression must work together to encapsulate the subject's true identity. When everything is in harmony, truth is achieved.
Throughout this dissertation, I have explored many different widely held techniques of photographers, and how these techniques have in their own way affected the outcome of the image, and how truthfully it manages to capture its subject's identity.
It can be seen most prominently that one of the best ways to capture a person at their most natural is when you are able to be intimate with them. Goldin, Clark and Day present this techniques very well through their candid portraits of close friends. It is almost as if the subject has to be comfortable enough with the photographer to feel as if a camera is actually absent. Another point to note is that Clark's friends, when photographed as young teenagers in Tulsa, never realised that his photographs would one day be presented to the general public. Unknowing of this, embarrassment and self-consciousness are destroyed and barriers are let down, so the photographer can enter personal territory.
It also has been conveyed to me throughout my research and understanding of the intentions of the photographers that the best way to capture a subject is through as many different aspects as possible, to capture them at their most natural: when they are sleeping, eating, dancing, laughing but also crying, in pain, tired and upset. Yet again, it seems a photographer needs to have enough intimacy with the subject to be able to explore all of these areas with them.
When looking at Tillman's exhibitions, I concluded it to be the best way to present photographs which in themselves conveyed a subjects identity, but also through the way that they were positioned, blown up and sized down. These seemingly unordered snapshots of a subject's life are almost reflecting what happens in their own realities. Some images are bright, as some days are bright. Sometimes the subject feels down so that snapshot may be in muted colours.
Each image, each position and each expression must work together to encapsulate the subject's true identity. When everything is in harmony, truth is achieved.
Bibliography -
(1) http://www.richardavedon.com/
(2) The book 'Richard Avedon Photographs 1946-2004'
(3) http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/115187.Richard_Avedon
(4) http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2002/jan/06/features.magazine27
(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_and_Nothingness
(6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Clark
(7) http://www.sweetandsound.co.uk/2011/05/larry-clark/
(8) http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/feb/13/larry-clark-photography-teenage-rampage
(9) http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/tillmans/
(10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Tillmans
(11) http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jun/27/wolfgang-tillmans-serpentine-review-cumming
(12) http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/aug/31/corinne-day-obituary
(13) http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/article-23384284-photos-of-kate-well-drink-to-that.do
Slideshow of my dissertation
I made my dissertation into a book using a program downloaded off Blurb called BookSmart. It allowed me control over positioning of text and photos and with this I attempted to make by book as professional as possible. I then took screen shots so I could display it on my website.